U.N. says peacekeepers searching for two missing officials in Congo

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Two United Nations officials have gone missing in the Democratic Republic of Congo and U.N. peacekeepers are searching for them, a United Nations spokesman said on Monday, without giving further details.

The Congolese government said Michael Sharp, a U.S. citizen, and Zaida Catalan, of Swedish nationality, had "fallen into the hands of negative forces not yet identified," along with four Congolese near the village of Ngombe.

Sharp and Catalan are members of a group of experts appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General to monitor violations of Democratic Republic of Congo sanctions imposed by the Security Council. The United Nations lists Sharp as American and Catalan as Chilean.